Telegraph View: Parliament's pursuit of truth and justice has been
notably less than zealous in one area: its own affairs.

Among the most striking recent phenomena in British politics has been the willingness of Parliament to hold the Government to account. Since the 2010 election, MPs and select committees have displayed a consistent enthusiasm for uncovering the failings not just of ministers, but of all parts of the public and private sectors.

Embarrassingly, one of those involved in such “rent-swapping”, Kevin Barron, is chairman of the standards and privileges committee: his landlord was Jon Trickett, the shadow Cabinet Office minister. Nor is Mr Barron the only Westminster grandee to have faced media scrutiny recently over his personal affairs. Keith Vaz, head of the home affairs committee, was revealed to have received undisclosed payments totalling almost £500,000; Stephen Dorrell, his counterpart on health, secretly sold his London flat to the owners of a nursing home chain, before renting it back at public expense.

Given that these committees are among the most powerful in Whitehall, one would have expected searching questions to be asked – or for Messrs Dorrell and Vaz to step down while investigations proceed. But in the cosy club of Westminster, the outrage has been muted. MPs still bruised by the expenses scandal see little reason to hand the press more scalps: witness how long Denis MacShane was able to string out the probes into his own fraudulent claims. The new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has shown little sign of rising to the challenge, taking a reactive rather than investigative approach to its work; meanwhile, the Coalition’s promised power of recall, which would allow voters summarily to remove MPs who betray their trust, has been rendered toothless.

This Parliament remains a significant improvement on its predecessor – but the adage about watching the watchmen rings as true as ever. Most of the stories above were uncovered by journalists, including those on this newspaper. Yet this week, Lord Justice Leveson is to unveil proposals that could make it harder than ever for the media to hold the powerful to account. But if the press does not investigate politicians’ wrongdoing, who will? Judging by their current behaviour, it is unlikely to be MPs themselves.